As Director of State Partnerships, Ricky Williams is dedicated to developing and implementing strategic plans to support the career readiness of all students. Prior to NS4ed, Ricky served the students, staff, and community of Hagerman Municipal Schools for eight years as Superintendent. Mr. Williams has worked side-by-side with local, state, and national leaders to improve the educational process, including effective leadership over his 26 years of service in New Mexico. Before taking over the reins as Superintendent, he served three years as Director of Secondary Instruction for Las Cruces Public Schools.
Previous to working for Las Cruces Public Schools, the 30-year veteran held multiple leadership-level positions at various educational institutions throughout New Mexico. Before moving to New Mexico in 1995, Ricky worked for Odessa High School (Odessa, TX) as a high school special education teacher and football coach.
Ricky holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Angelo State University (San Angelo, TX), a Master of Arts degree in School Counseling from the University of Texas Permian Basin (Odessa, TX), and a Master of Science degree in School Administration from the College of Southwest (New Mexico).
Mr. Williams served as President of the New Mexico School Superintendents’ Association (2017-2018) and was selected as “Superintendent of the Year” for the state of New Mexico in 2019. He was also appointed to the South Central Comprehensive Center (SC3) Regional Advisory Board by Secretary of Education Hanna Skandera and approved by Governor Martinez to represent the State of New Mexico.
Hubs of Inquiry: K-12 Leadership Development & Partnerships; K-12 Leadership, Compliance & Reporting; Partnerships between Education, Industry & Government Entities; Client-Partner Success Initiatives; Innovative Career-Connected Learning.
